Pickleball players seek a court of their own

Pickleball Ambassador Maryann Charmoz, left, and Betsy Hulme, demonstrate the game of pickleball. The blue lines on the court delineate the pickeball court.

WILTON — Wilton High School’s newly renovated tennis courts is at the epicenter of a contest that selectmen perhaps did not anticipate when they commissioned the $418,000 project in September.

The competition is not one between athletes vying to demonstrate their athletic prowess, but instead one of opposing sports competing for real estate on which they can play their preferred game.

The conflict is the result of a recent application by local pickleball enthusiasts to have separate lines painted on the high school’s new courts, since pickleball courts are more compact than tennis courts. Pickleball court are 20-by-44 feet as opposed to tennis courts which are 78-by-27 feet, and both have distinctive lines dividing the courts.

The application, though innocuous at first glance, ignited a firestorm among tennis and pickleball enthusiasts alike.

Tennis advocates like resident Jonathan Murphy argued that the newly renovated Wilton High School courts couldn’t include pickleball markings because the school would be eliminated as a possible venue for high school tennis tournaments. The lines would also confuse people playing tennis recreationally.

“The tennis community does not want to be polarized with the pickleball folks…As a community we don’t want to see, especially when it comes to athletic endeavors and recreation, any discord. The tennis community does support folks that want new sports, and inclusive sports…but these new courts are important to our community,” Murphy said.

Leslie Gambee, a former junior varsity tennis coach and recreational pickleball player, was one of many residents who supported pickleball lines being added to the new courts.

“Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the country…While I understand the concern about the lines, I really felt that this would have been another opportunity for another gym class or another Parks and Rec program,” Gambee said.

While the original application to add pickleball lines to the new courts was shot down by Parks and Recreation — a decision that was re-affirmed by the Board of Selectmen — pickleball players are still striving for a solution. In addition, the town also banned players from using chalk to markup the new courts.

Shortly after the decision was handed down, however, four pickle ball players defied the town’s decree, marking up one of the new courts with chalk-drawn lines. The incident prompted First Selectman Lynne Vanderslice to post a notice reiterating that the new courts “are to be used exclusively for tennis.”

“No other sport is to be played on the courts. No lines of any kind, temporary or otherwise, are to marked on the courts by a member of the public… Any markings or damage will be reported to the police for investigation,” wrote Vanderslice.

Though lines were added to the Comstock Community Center gym as a part of its renovation project in 2015, players claim they still face a dearth of playable surfaces in town. In addition to the Comstock gym, there are only two other places in town outfitted with lines specific to pickleball: the YMCA and Middlebrook tennis courts.

The problem, pickleball players say, is that no one can play during school hours at Middlebrook, and scheduling the Comstock court can be difficult due to a high demand.

The idea of constructing a specialized pickleball court on unused town land was also floated. Such a project, however, would cost up to $80,000 — a sum fundraisers did not seem confident they could reach.

Pickleball enthusiast Alison Mark also recommended that the Comstock Community Center’s newly redone basketball courts be outfitted with pickleball lines. This would cost just under $1,500, which would be fundraised by local pickleball enthusiasts and would include a paint job, netting and storage for pickleball, according to Mark.

“It’s the ideal environment for that, there’s benches, there’s water faucets, it’s quiet there, it’s away from the street, it’s a flat area…and minimal cracks,” Mark said. “We could have three nice pickleball courts that everyone could avail themselves on during the warm weather, and not really intrude on any other activities or any other sports.”

This idea, too, was rejected by the Parks and Recreation Commission. Instead, Parks and Recreation Director Steve Pierce is working with Superintendent Kevin Smith to reach a deal to paint pickleball lines on unused space in the Middlebrook parking lot.

A decision is expected during the winter, in the hopes that pickleball-specific courts can be available for warm weather next year.